Sons of the Empire: The Frontier and the Boy Scout Movement, 1890-1918

In Sons of the Empire, Robert MacDonald explores popular ideas and myths in Edwardian Britain, their use by Baden-Powell, and their influence on the Boy Scout movement. In particular, he analyses the model of masculinity provided by the imperial frontier, the view that life in younger, far-flung parts of the empire was stronger, less degenerate than in Britain. The stereotypical adventurer - the frontiersman - provided an alternative ethic to British society. The best known example of it at the time was Baden-Powell himself, a war scout, the Hero of Mafeking in the South African war, and one of the first cult heroes to be created by the modern media.

When Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts in 1908, he used both the power of the frontier myth and his own legend as a hero to galvanize the movement. The glamour of war scouting was hard to resist, its adventures a seductive invitation to the first recruits. But Baden-Powell had a serious educational program in mind: Boy Scouts were to be trained in good citizenship.

MacDonald documents his study with a wide range of contemporary sources, from newspapers to military memoirs. Exploring the genesis of an imperial institution through its own texts, he brings new insight into the Edwardian age.

Author: Robert MacDonald
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 11/01/2011
Pages: 260
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.84lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781442613133

About the Author
Robert H. MacDonald is an English professor at Carleton University.

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